Monday, May 13, 2013

2nd Week of May.

Monday
8 miles...ish. 1:10 on the trails. Some gravelly flatter sections, hilly singletrack, and sand dune. Just kept moving and charging the hills. Still kind of blah feeling after that bastard of a 5k.

Tuesday
11 miles...or so. Real nice run around East Grand Rapids with Jeremiah, with a couple short trail loops thrown in. Varying pace from 7-8minute miles, with some emphasis on the hills.

Wednesday
AM: 7 miles...or thereabouts. Drove back to the State Park(been spending a lot of time there lately) and parked at the beach. Ran the 5k course from last weekend. Down the beach, up the "Sugar Bowl" dunes, and on the ridges back out to the beach. One loop barefoot, then another, with an additional mile of sand dunes tacked on.

PM: 5 miles - a speedier flat loop from home on the dirt roads. No watch, just a previously known route.

PM: 5 miles - same loop again with Sam after she got out of work.

17 miles? Shit, I've had weeks with less jogging than that!

Thursday
Rest day

Friday
7 miles - a quick loop at Hoffmaster with Evan and Neil. Cold rain coming down, but still some good traction. I like running in rain that isn't half snow. I felt fairly nimble, but it was probably because I was the only one of us who knew where he was going, and Evan ran a marathon last weekend.

Went to the 5/3 River Bank Run Expo and signed up for the race. Why Not?

Saturday
Riverbank Run 25k. Registered on a whim, stayed out pretty late the night before, and woke up feeling a little rum in my veins. For 4 hours of sleep, I actually felt really good. Perfect weather for a fast run. Low 50's and overcast with no rain. Other than a shoe coming untied and some...shall we say, digestive issues(I hate waiting in line to use the bathroom at huge venues), I think it was a great experience. 1:40 even, which is a 5 minute PR from my training days in college. Athletes are constantly searching for that perfect effort level- the feeling of exactly meeting a challenge and flowing effortlessly. This may have been the closest I've been to that in a few years(Woodstock 50 2010 may have been the very closest). At no point in the run did I repetitively stare at my watch, nor did my legs ever feel fatigued. Considering that it was a higer-volume week, I'm thankful for that. I haven't done much speedwork to speak of this year, but decided that this would make a great barometer for the upcoming half. I have about 5 weeks to do some speedwork and creep the volume up, and it's 2.4 miles shorter than this race. If I ran 6:30ish pace for a 25k, I could possibly cut that down. Dare I shoot for a sub 1:20 half marathon? Could be fun, right? Hot weather is the bane of my joggerdom, so I'll be at the mercy of our ever-warming climate. Anyhoo, I'll use the success and pleasantness of this experience to tell myself that all is not lost, and that I can improve.

Total
59ish miles. I think that this may be "sweet spot" for mileage for me. I don't feel drained, I've been productive, and I'm feeling fit. shooting for mega-miles always leaves me on my ass and proves counterproductive. I think if I find myself with some extra restlessness or drive, I should dedicate it to another physical activity like cycling or wood splitting. Damn near ran out of firewood before the spring rolled around.

I'm starting a class next week that involves 16 hours of physics, and a few hours of homework every day, so we'll see if running turns out to be my saving grace a burden.

2 comments:

I've been doing more trail ultras in recent years, but 1/2 marathon is probably my best/favorite distance as the race pace is right around my cruise-tempo pace. Plus, I can pull a 1/2 (or 25K) out of my rear end without proper training, unlike the marathon+ distances. These days though, I'm having troubles cracking 35/40 miles-per-week, so my 1:26 PR is in no imminent danger. My newly-acquired 'masters' status ain't helping either.

1:19 sounds like a nice doable reach goal for you, especially if you can keep up 50-70 miles a week. Good luck juggling this with your classes!

I agree about the 13.1 or 25k being an "easy" distance. I almost felt as if it was a "do the first 15 miles of a marathon, then stop before it gets difficult" run. I suppose that means I should have run faster.

1:26 half? Nice! Don't worry about the master's status. I get my ass handed to me by masters no matter what distance I run. You just get to be the "fast old guy."